Let’s be honest, you probably clicked on the headline thinking that this was another post by CBM’s very own “Human Torch” – Josh Wilding. I apologize in advance for disappointing you, or not, whichever the case may be.
I remember back when I would snag a comic from the spinning metal magazine stand of my grandparent’s meat market as I ran off to grade school in the morning. Later I would work at grocery stores and pull comics off the shelves to read on my break in the coffee room while gulping down chocolate milk… Let’s just say they were the “good old days.” The days when I could sit down and draw or paint the characters I read so much about. That was before I got into computers… programming… databases… web sites. Then along came this crazy idea back in 2002 – “Let’s build a web site about all of these movies based on comics that are being created by Hollywood” – and all of the days, nights and years slaving away at a full-time job while building said web site in the evenings, early mornings and weekends for years on end.
Here I sit 13 years later... Though circumstances have changed – CBM has been my full-time job, plus overtime, over the last several years – there are two things that have remained constant – 1) My love for comics and CBMs and 2) The great “Marvel vs DC” war rages on. The second has never been more apparent than today and I’m here to tell you why they BOTH suck.
Are you ready? Are you prepared to be blown away by this revelation I’m about to share with you? I hope so, but before I share, I have to tell you WHY I’m taking the time out of the hectic schedule of battling spammers, trolls, abusive users, illegal video download hijackers, feature creation, redesign implementation and a myriad of other things that there just aren’t enough hours in the day for… I recently read comments from some users expressing their dissatisfaction regarding
ComicBookMovie.com, its content and its rather vocal user base. Comments like these really aren’t anything new, but I don’t know that I’ve ever really addressed them before… Sure I jump into chat every once in a while and talk to users... Sometimes users will email with feedback… But I’ve never actually took to the public forum that is CBM to reach out to the users and tell you what I think about it.
My first thought: Go ahead and leave. You won’t find a BETTER place for comic book movie news, or a better place to share your thoughts regarding the CBMs we love and/or hate. We were the first site ever to dedicate itself entirely to CBMs and we’re one of the biggest, reaching millions and millions of people every month. We have the most active community of *any* of the related sites, which is why people love the site. You’ll leave, but you’ll probably be back. I’ve banned enough users to know that CBM is like crack for the comic lover.
My second thought: What kind of a pompous, arrogant, self-righteous, jerk would think something like that?! You can’t think about your users that way, they’re the ones that pay your bills! Without them CBM would be nothing! What can I do to make them happy and get them to stay? How about sorting comments by newest or oldest? Maybe a “Block” button so that they don’t have to read anything from those trolls that like to write an entire novel in the comments are of every article? Maybe a “Friends” feature so that they can keep tabs on what other users are reading, commenting or posting about? How about a new look that loads faster and includes a mobile version?
In the end I settle on a combination of the two… There’s one thing I’ve learned, and that’s that you can’t make everybody happy all of the time. You’re lucky if you can make some people happy every once in a great while.
I know, you’re thinking - “Enough already! Tell me why Marvel and DC suck!” – That IS why you clicked on the “flametastic” headline, right? Enough beating around the bush -
YOU are the reason that both Marvel and DC suck.
Let that sink in for a minute…
YOU are the reason that Marvel and DC suck. Neither of them will ever be better than the other. Superman will never beat Hulk. Iron Man will never beat Batman. Why? I hate to tell you this, but it’s because
YOU suck.
Now, when I say “YOU”, I don’t mean ALL of you. I’m referring to those of you that relish nitpicking every little thing about every character, big and small. Some of you like to focus on Marvel characters and movies, some tear down DC characters and properties. Some of you have absolutely no loyalty and nitpick both, as well as every other property, character and casting under the sun. “Spider-Man can’t have organic web-shooters!” “Superman can’t kill General Zod!” “Mark Ruffalo can’t play Bruce Banner!” “Wonder Woman HAS to have bigger boobs!”
You could also be one of those people that blast anyone that shares a different view than you do regarding some aspect of a character, film or property.
YOU suck too. I hate to break it to you that way, but the truth can hurt.
How do YOU make Marvel, DC and every other comic property out there that has, or will have, the Hollywood treatment suck? It’s simple really – You ruin it for everyone else. Maybe it brings you pleasure to do so, or it could be a mental disorder that you should really take some time to speak with someone about… Preferably someone that’s licensed to do so… Maybe it’s just the day and age we live in… I don’t know.
Unfortunately a lot of you suck…
The good news is that I think there are even more of you that DON’T suck! I think that you would agree that it’s a GREAT time to be a fan. We’ve never had so many movies to see, or different ways to see them. The days of standing in long lines for hours to get into a movie to see Wolverine and his berserker rage are over. We can reserve our seats weeks, or even months in advance and drop into our seat just in time to see Krypton come to life on a mammoth sized IMAX screen. We have wonderful sites like
ComicBookMovie.com that keep us up to date on current, past and future films. If you’re lucky you may even find a leaked photo, video, or friend! Hell, we have a second
Avengers film in the theaters,
Batman and Superman squaring off next year, plus
Deadpool AND
Suicide Squad films in the middle of shooting as I write this!
Back when I was into some pretty crazy extracurricular activities (*cough* cage fighting *cough*) I had a good friend who would always introduce me to people as “the toughest nerd you’ll ever meet.” Join me in celebrating the fact that it’s now cool to be a nerd. Be proud of the fact that you’re one of the relatively few who knows why
X-Men: Days of Future Past and
Avengers: Age of Ultron have two different Quicksilvers!
Share the love and don’t be one of THOSE users. Don’t suck.